The Tunnel and the
Near-Death Experience

One
theory used to explain the near-death phenomenon has
nothing to do with death at all. It states that NDEs
are actually memories of birth. A baby being born leaves
the womb to travel down a tunnel towards a light, and
what waits for it in the light is usually a great deal
of love and warmth. What happens at the point of death
is only a stored memory of what happened when life began.
Yet again there are a lot of points that don't match:
a baby being born does not exactly float at high speed
down a tunnel, but is buffeted along with difficulty
by its mother's contractions. And how does this model
explain the meeting with friends and relatives who have
died? The Being of Light is supposed to be the midwife
or the doctor who rules the delivery room - but many
babies are born without a midwife or doctor present,
or perhaps with many people present. On a purely practical
level, a baby's nervous system is not sufficiently developed
to allow it to assimilate and store memories of the
birth process.

Those who argue this theory say the feelings of peace
and bliss are a memory of the peace of the womb when
all physical needs were met by the mother and there
were no stresses and strains. Why should this be any
more likely than the feelings of peace and bliss are
relief from the pain of illness and injury at the point
of death? However, being born is often not a pleasant
experience for babies which leaves them crying as if
in agony. In contrast, NDEs are more often described
as the most pleasurable experience a person can have.
The birth process is not pleasant.

1.
Insights Into the NDE Tunnel Experience

One
of the nine elements that generally occur during NDEs
is the tunnel experience. This involves being drawn
into darkness through a tunnel, at an extremely high
speed, until reaching a realm of radiant golden-white
light. Also, although they sometimes report feeling
scared, they do not sense that they were on the way
to hell or that they fell into it. Instead of a tunnel,
some people report rising suddenly into the heavens
and seeing the Earth and the celestial sphere as they
would be seen by astronauts in space. Once on the other
side of the tunnel, or after they have risen into the
heavens, the dying meet people who glow with an inner
light. Often they find that friends and relatives who
have already died are there to greet them. (Dr. Raymond
Moody)

By
analyzing a large number of NDE accounts on this website,
a map of the various paths to heaven can be created.
Here are the paths I have found:

(1)
The journey from the Earth to the earthbound realm.

(2)
The journey from the Earth to the void.

(3)
The journey from the Earth to the void and then to heaven.
(by means of a tunnel)

(4)
The journey from the Earth to heaven. (by means of a
tunnel)

(5)
The journey from the Earth to the earthbound realm,
then to the void, then to heaven.

(6)
The journey from the Earth to the void, then through
the tunnel to a heavenly receiving station in heaven.
(Kevin Williams)

In
his book, Life At Death, Dr. Ken Ring analyzed the near-death
experiences of 24 people who attempted suicide. Among
them, no one reported the tunnel phenomenon. (Dr. Ken
Ring)

[Webmaster's
Note: Many experiencers observe a gray or foggy area
in the void where people who have committed suicide
reside until they make an important decision. My analysis
suggests that the main way out of the void is through
the tunnel. And this fact from Dr. Ring supports my
research conclusion that suicide experiencers have not
gone through the tunnel because they have not yet made
the decision that would take them through the tunnel
and into higher spirit realms.]

"The
way to escape the void is to choose love and light over
the darkness. Once this happens, the light appears and
the tunnel takes you toward the light and into heaven
for further instruction." (Kevin Williams)

"The
dark tunnel is described in many ways, such as being
like a cave, a well, an enclosure, a funnel, a vacuum,
a void, a sewer, a valley, or a cylinder." (Dr. Raymond
Moody)

In
45 Hindu near-death accounts, Pasrich and Stevenson
found no evidence of a tunnel experience which is frequently
found in western accounts of the near-death experience.
However, another near-death researcher, Susan Blackmore,
has reported accounts of a tunnel experience in her
research of 8 Hindu near-death experiencers. (Hindu
NDEs)

"One
fact about the differing perceptions that people have
can be demonstrated when several witnesses observe the
same event, such as an automobile accident, and the
witnesses' testimonies are not the same. One particular
NDE example I have read illustrates the differing perceptions
that experiencers can have of the same event. This particular
example involves the tunnel experience. Most people
describe their experience of traveling through the tunnel
as a very beautiful and pleasant experience. However,
one particular person (I cannot remember the name or
the source) went through the tunnel kicking, screaming,
and trying to grab the edges of the tunnel to prevent
from going through it. This particular person was completely
horrified by the tunnel experience. This is also a good
illustration of how one man's heaven can be another
man's hell. And beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
(Kevin Williams)

Dr.
Ronald Siegel is the distinguished expert in psychopharmacolgy
at UCLA. He is one of the leading experts in the field
of hallucinogens and an ardent skeptic of the consciousness
survives death theory. Dr. Siegel explains his theory
of what causes the famous tunnel perspective in NDEs:

"This
is probably due to the stimulation of the central nervous
system that mimics the effects of light on the retina.
It can also occur when the electrical activity in the
brain is altered in such a way that the threshold for
perception of phosphenes (electrical activity in the
visual system) is lowered, and bright lights are seen
in otherwise dark surroundings. This point can create
a tunnel perspective." (Dr. Ronald Siegel)

"The
tunnel experience after death may create the recollection
of birth." (Elisabeth Kubler-Ross)

"Going
from a waking state or semi-waking state into an amorphous
state is usually the most dramatic kind of spiritual
travel experience. In one type of amorphous transition,
the traveler suddenly senses a powerful vibration or
sound and is caught up in that energy. This is sometimes
accompanied by a feeling of being drawn or propelled
by this vibration at tremendous speed through a dark
space. This experience seems very similar to the descriptions
of the tunnel associated with near-death experience.
Numerous people who came very close to death (no heartbeat
or respiration) have near-death experiences where they
have described different types of sounds or vibrations
which propelled them at seemingly great speed through
a dark tunnel or corridor." (Robert Monroe)

"It's
not quite the same, because when you astral project,
you don't have to go through the white light, or a tunnel.
When you project, you usually go right where you would
like to go, right away." (Jerry Gross)

"In
the tunnel connecting this world with the next, humans
as well as animals travel through the tunnel." (Sharon
Wood)

"The
tunnel in the NDE is the pathway to God." (Brian Krebs)

"The
tunnel is a porthole to the place where all souls go
if they choose." (David Oakford)

2.
Brief Encounters With the NDE Tunnel

"As
I looked up, there was a tunnel - a light - an opening.
It was glowing. Around that opening were many people
milling around." (Anne Horne)

While
Warmack was in a coma in the hospital when he became
aware of something "in the back of me, like a beam
of light, brighter than the sun, brighter than any light
I had ever seen." He traveled through a tunnel
and felt that he was traveling back in time. (Warmack)

"Suddenly
I was standing alone in a room with large, heavy doors
leading into other rooms. Someone came to me. I didn't
see him; I only heard his voice. He led me up through
what seemed like a tunnel. I seemed to be walking, but
my feet didn't touch a floor." (Clara)

"Upon
death, most people go through a heavenly process before
entering into heaven. Evil people, instead of experiencing
the tunnel and bright light upon death, are sent through
what Sylvia calls the left door and enter into an abyss
of empty, joyless, nothingness for a brief period of
time ... Most people, who go through the heavenly process,
go through a tunnel and towards the light of God." (Sylvia
Browne)

"I
was spinning sideways somehow through this tunnel. At
first it was very dark, then it seemed like there was
these streaks. I was falling but I wasn't. I was traveling.
That's maybe more the word. There was this big
white light at the end of it. I kind of came out into
this." (Paul Carr)

"For
a while, I watched on as the nurses and doctors worked
quickly to revive me. Then, I lost interest and my attention
turned towards a long dark tunnel. At the end of the
tunnel was a very bright light and I floated to the
opening. Once inside, I moved with what seemed to be
an extraordinary and effortless speed, and finally reached
the light." (Nadia McCaffrey)

"I
asked to see the rest of the universe; beyond our solar
system, beyond all human illusion. The light then told
me that I could go with the Stream. I did, and was carried
through the light at the end of the tunnel. I felt and
heard a series of very soft sonic booms. What a rush!"
(Mellen-Thomas Benedict)

"I
remember closing my eyes. I am in this long dark tunnel.
It is so cold and so dark. I have never been in a place
so cold as this tunnel. I was traveling at the speed
of light. As I neared the end of the tunnel, I saw the
most brilliant yellow light coming toward me. I was
beginning to feel warm. The nearer the light got, the
warmer I felt." (Beth Hammond)

"Then
I began to float upwards and I realized I was having
to make a decision. It was almost a physical two-way
pull. There seemed to be no ceiling above me, just a
black hole into which I was being compelled by a very
strong force. It seemed as if I was to make a decision
as to which way I would choose to go - up into the tunnel
or back into my body." (Caroline Sharp)

" I
saw a pinpoint of light in the distance. The black mass
around me began to take on more of the shape of a tunnel,
and I felt myself traveling through it at an even greater
speed, rushing toward the light. I was instinctively
attracted to it, although again, I felt that others
might not. As I approached it, I noticed the figure
of a man standing in it, with the light radiating all
around him". (Betty Eadie)

"I
asked God how could I possibly return back down the
tunnel and back into my hospital bed. He spoke
and said, 'Son, tilt your head, now feel the liquid
drain from your eye. Now open your eye and see.' And
I was immediately back in my physical body." (Ian McCormack)

Right
then, she said she felt herself being sucked away into
a tunnel at a fast pace. Then she was flying so fast
through this dark tunnel. She then stopped midstream
in it and was in this dark tunnel. She never saw a light
at all. She heard this voice say to her, "If I
let you go back what will you do with your life?" She
responded back to this voice, "I will dedicate my life
to you." She knew this overpowering, loving presence
was GOD himself asking her this question. She never
saw him - only heard him. He then showed her pictures
of her future helping others and other things like a
movie screen showing her future. Then she felt
this swoosh back through the tunnel and back into her
body. (Lisa Marie)

In
1982, while a Fellow for the National Cancer Institute,
Dr. Melvin Morse was working in a clinic in Pocatello,
Idaho. He was called to revive a young girl who nearly
died in a community swimming pool. She had had no heart
beat for 19 minutes, yet completely recovered. She was
able to recount many details of her own resuscitation,
and then said that she was taken down a brick lined
tunnel to a heavenly place. When Dr. Morse showed his
obvious skepticism, she patted him shyly on the hand
and said, "Don't worry, Dr. Morse, heaven is fun!."
(Dr. Melvin Morse)

"Suddenly,
I found myself in another dimension. A glowing golden
tunnel appeared in front of me. Far, far into the tunnel,
almost as if at its distant opening, stood a man dressed
in a splendid golden robe ... The Master continued his
invitation, but he was so far away. I wanted to fly
to him. I knew that this was possible; it was simply
a matter of making the decision ... Exiting my body
would be an easy choice. I would float through this
glorious tunnel and seek the answers the Master had
to offer. Yet, just as I slipped into the tunnel something
pulled me back. While I was surrendering to the marvelous
force that had come to claim me, the hospital staff
had worked to pull me out of my coma with massive doses
of cortisone. I remember nothing after the tunnel experience
until three days later." (Marilyn Gibson)

"Then
I remember a very powerful force pulling me towards
a serene, very beautiful realm, a higher realm. I traveled
very slowly along a tunnel toward a bright light, and
I could feel an overwhelming sense of warmth and peace
and whiteness. I wanted to walk into the whiteness,
which was so tranquil and happy. It was like stepping
into a vacuum, there was nothing tangible, no scenery
to look at, but a tremendous feeling of being somewhere,
like nirvana. I felt okay, as though this was where
I was meant to be, as if I had arrived home, and I was
at ease with myself for the first time in a long time."
(Helen)

"Then
I found myself in what appeared to be a large tunnel
with a small white light at the other end. I was moving
toward this light pretty fast. I was surrounded by a
feeling of absolute peace and what I can only describe
as unconditional love. It felt wonderful to be there.
As I moved towards the light, I was aware of two presences
near to me. They were telling me by thought alone that
it was not my time. I had to go back. We were communicating
just by thoughts back and forth to each other. I knew
these presences knew me, but I did not know them. I
had never met them before. Then I was moving quickly
back down through the tunnel and into my body." (Enigma)

"I
started to move toward the light. The way I moved,
the physics, was completely different than it is here
on Earth. It was something I had never felt before and
never felt since. It was a whole different sensation
of motion. I obviously wasn't walking or skipping or
crawling. I was not floating. I was flowing. I was flowing
toward the light. I was accelerating and I knew I was
accelerating, but then again, I didn't really feel the
acceleration. I just knew I was accelerating toward
the light. Again, the physics was different - the physics
of motion of time, space, travel. It was completely
different in that tunnel, than it is here on Earth. I
came out into the light and when I came out into the
light, I realized that I was in heaven." (Barbara Springer)

"I
then remember traveling a long distance upward toward
the light. I believe that I was moving very fast, but
this entire realm seemed to be outside of time. Finally,
I reached my destination. It was only when I emerged
from the other end that I realized that I was no longer
accompanied by the being who had brought me there. But
I wasn't alone. There, before me, was the living
presence of the light ... My mind was naked; in fact,
I became pure mind. The ethereal body which I had
traveled in through the tunnel seemed to be no more."
(Beverly Brodsky)

"I
then felt myself moving off very fast, exceedingly fast,
into what seemed like outer space. I always felt that
it was the fact of going so fast that gave me the sense
of being in a tunnel. And I was going toward a very
bright light. As I was traveling along I could see different-colored
lights, and then I got stopped, just stopped before
I got to the light." (Janet)

"As
a massive field of energy began to form in the sky directly
in front of me, I heard a loud, grinding mechanical
noise as the mass of energy shaped itself into a cylinder
funneling upwards. It seemed as if the darkness of the
sky turned into liquid as the mass of energy curled
like an ocean wave and formed a perfect tunnel that
stretched into the heavens. As I stared into the large
and imposing tunnel of energy, a shimmering, luminescent-blue
field of energy began to float down the tunnel toward
me. As it rapidly approached, I watched the luminescent-blue
field mass into a form and begin to materialize into
an image of a human being. As the image composed itself,
I found myself face to face with an old friend." (Ned
Dougherty)

"A
dot of light appeared far off in front of me. It
was just a pinpoint, a tiny speck in the distance, but
its brilliance distinguished it from all other lights
around me and I instinctively pressed towards it. Emanating
from it was a love and hope and peace that my soul hungered
for. I wanted, I needed this brilliant, radiant
light. The black tube took the shape of a tunnel now,
opening up as I neared its end. The light burst forth
before me, filling everything with brightness, and I
was coming upon it impossibly fast. 'Oh, my gosh,'
I thought, 'It's brighter than the sun. It'll blind me!
It'll kill me!'" (RaNelle Wallace)

"A
tunnel was forming, opening like the eye of a hurricane
and coming toward me. I actually didn't move at all;
the tunnel came to me. There was the sound of chimes
as the tunnel spiraled toward and then around me. Soon
there was nothing to be seen - no crying Sandy, no ambulance
attendants trying to jump-start my dead body, no desperate
chatter with the hospital over the radio - only a tunnel
that engulfed me completely and the intensely beautiful
sound of seven chimes ringing in rhythmic succession.
I looked ahead into the darkness. There was a light
up there, and I began to move toward it as quickly as
possible. I was moving without legs at a high rate of
speed. Ahead the light became brighter and brighter
until it overtook the darkness and left me standing
in a paradise of brilliant light." (Dannion Brinkley)

Randy
approached a dark tunnel. When he held back and said
that he was afraid to go into the darkness, the angel
smiled and told them that this was the only way that
they could get to their destination. "I could see a bright
light at the far end of the tunnel, so I said, 'All
right, as long as you don't let go of my hand!' She
laughed and said, 'I told you that I would never leave
your side. I have been with you ever since you were
born. In fact, I was there at your mother's side when
you were born. I am your guardian angel.'" Randy asked
her what her name was. "We don't have names in the manner
that you mean," she said, "but if it makes you feel
better to call me something, you may call me, Areo (ah-ree-o)."
The tunnel did not prove to be such a terrible ordeal
after all. Randy and Areo seemed to whoosh through it
quickly. (Randy Gehling)

"Suddenly,
I had to move on, so I floated into the waiting room,
where my parents were. My father had his head buried
in my mother's lap. He was kneeling at her feet, his
arms wrapped around her waist, and he was sobbing. My
mother was stroking his head, whispering to him. This
scene shocked me, as my father was not prone to showing
emotions. Once I realize they would be fine, I felt
myself pulled into a horizontal tunnel. The ride through
the tunnel was like nothing else. I remember thinking,
'So this is death.' The tunnel was dark, and every
once in a while something that looking like lightning
would flash across my path. These flashes were brilliant
in color and didn't scare me. At the end of the tunnel
was a bright light. From the light came two dogs of
mine. One was a collie named Mimi who had died three
years previously from an infection, and the other was
a box named Sam who had died two years before after
being hit by a car." (Lynn)

3.
Extraordinary NDE Tunnel Experiences

Thomas
Sawyer's NDE Tunnel Experience: "In this capacity, though,
I was looking at absolute nothingness or darkness but
my eyes were not straining. I had the desire to look
around inquisitively. What is this place? Where am I?
Well, again instantaneously, this darkness took the
shape of a tunnel. It
was perfectly level, however slightly ambiguous in that
it was straight before me and it was cloud-like. It
was very vast, as opposed to small and confining, and
was anywhere from a thousand feet to a thousand miles
wide. That didn't matter to me but I want to give you
some reference point. I was very comfortable and inquisitive.
It was cylindrical. If you took a tornado and stretched
it out straight, it would be similar to that, without
the houses and the doors floating around inside. It
absolutely extended to infinity. This measurement of
infinity was the first empirical knowledge that I had
within my near-death experience. Simultaneously
with the awareness of this tunnel, I had a feeling of
forward motion; it was very comfortable, it was very
usual. Moving through this tunnel there was an acceleration.
There was not any wind vibration, nor any noise. There
was no motion sickness or anything like that. It was
like floating within a vacuum. I saw that I was increasing
speed, but there were no g-forces of the kind you would
naturally experience in accelerating movement. I went
faster and faster through the tunnel. The
next empirical knowledge I had was that I had attained
at least the speed of light or conceivably faster. Whisking
through the tunnel at this speed, I had the depth perception,
the visual perception of the tunnel whisking past me
(or I through the tunnel). The
next thing is that way, way off in the distance to infinity
there appeared this little speck of light. That light
was very special; it was the first identifiable object
that I was able to focus on, to realize that it was
nothing like what I'd seen before. It was extremely
bright. This speck of light was brighter than something
that would immediately blind you. It was brighter than
a million billion carbon arcs, or welder's torches,
anything you can possibly compare it to. It was the
brightest thing I'd ever seen in my life. There
was a tremendous eager anticipation because this was
the first thing that wasn't blurry or ambiguous. The
appearance of this light way off at the end of the tunnel
brought me a sense of great love and a feeling of camaraderie.
That was something extraordinary, greater than anything
that I'd experienced during my thirty-three years of
life. It was utter beauty.

"The light was way off in
the distance and got larger as I got closer to it. I
was eager to get closer to the light. I was still Thomas
Sawyer, with all of my personality and characteristics,
yet here I was, separate from the light by just a spatial
measurement of visual connotation. Now being at the
end of the tunnel and standing before the light, it
seemed that it covered the entire vista before me. It
was more beautiful than I've tried to describe, because
I could use all the superlatives, and then I'd have
to say: but it was more. I
had never experienced anything that divine. It was white,
possibly, blue-white, but certainly white. It was paradoxically
absolutely everything. It included Thomas Sawyer. It
included the tunnel that was behind me. It included
the entire universe that I was ever aware of. It was
absolutely, positively, everything. It was also absolutely
the most beautiful thing that I've ever seen, that I've
ever been near or experienced. The
light I am describing is whatever most people would
describe as God. That's the description. It meant the
same to me as the word God. It was in fact the light
of Jesus Christ. From
the onset of this rather super-conscious state of the
darkness of the tunnel, there was something that was
totally missing, and that was what we call time. There's
no such thing as time in heaven! The chronology of my
accident is as I told you: there was the darkness, I
was moving through the tunnel, and there was a light
at the end of the tunnel. There was then a confrontation
with the light at the end of the tunnel whatever more.
That's the chronology in that order ... I
know that I experienced a total life review, but I have
never been able to fit it properly into any of that
basic chronology. It had to have happened from the center
of the tunnel or the movement within the tunnel, prior
to what I call the confrontation with the light ... What happened when I went
through the tunnel? Did I see the face of Jesus Christ?
Yes, I did. But the most important thing that I have
been able to say is probably the aspect of total knowledge
... At
first it just seemed like a foggy grayness about me.
As the speed of my upward and outward movement increased,
the enclosing fog seemed to have a bright ending at
the distance. I remember at the early moments of moving
ahead through this enclosure a brightness to my left
where I could see through the cloud-like tunnel. Beyond
the walls of my tunnel was a shimmering, glowing light
...My
tunnel structure thinned along the sides but the light
ahead was beckoning me. I was intensely attracted to
reaching the light. As
the sides of the tunnel became clearer, the light ahead
became brighter and closer as my speed increased." (Thomas
Sawyer)

Rev.
Howard Pittman's NDE Tunnel Experience: "Suddenly we came
to a most beautiful place. I know that I've already
reported how terrible that second heaven was, so you
can imagine how surprising it was to find anything beautiful
over there. God would not allow me to retain the memory
of why this place was so beautiful. I do remember that
it was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen. This
place looked like a tunnel, a roadway, a valley or some
sort of highway. It had a most brilliant light all its
own and was completely surrounded with an invisible
shield. I knew that the invisible shield was the protection
of the Holy Spirit. Walking
in this tunnel, or along that roadway, or valley, or
whatever, was what appeared to be human beings. I asked
my escort who they were. He told me, 'They are saints
going home.' These were the departed spirits of Christians
who had died on Earth and they were going home. Each
of these saints was accompanied by at least one guardian
angel and some had a whole host of angels with them. I
wondered why some saints were accompanied by only one
angel and others had many. I was watching as the saints
passed through the way that all saints must take to
go home. Here it was, the passageway from Earth to the
third heaven. Instead
of allowing me to enter, the angel stationed me before
the gates, slightly to one side. He instructed me to
stay there and watch as the saints were permitted to
enter into heaven. As the saints were allowed into heaven,
I noticed a strange thing. They were permitted to enter
only one at a time. No two were permitted to enter those
gates at the same time. I wondered about this but it
was never explained to me. When
the last of the fifty saints had entered into the third
heaven, I started to enter but my escort stopped me.
He told me that if I entered I could not come out and
that I would have to stay there until the Father brought
me back. The angels told me that all who enter the third
heaven must remain there until brought back to this
physical world by Christ himself. When the angel said
I could not enter unless I stayed." (Rev. Howard Pittman)

Dr.
Dianne Morrissey's NDE Tunnel Experience: "As soon as I saw
that the silver cord was attached to my physical body,
my spirit body was thrust into a dark tunnel. I moved
through it with great speed, traveling faster than I
could have imagined possible. Although the tunnel was
filled with an all consuming darkness, I felt peaceful
and unafraid ... When I came to the end of the darkness,
I stepped into a new dimension. Here, I could sense
the presence of a loving spirit, sent - I knew - to
God to greet me. Then, I was back at the site of my
physical body. Back and forth I traveled through the
tunnel, several times in succession, moving from the
Other Side to my electrocuted physical body and back
again. Each
time I emerged from the tunnel, I was met by a radiant
angelic being who stood before me, smiling. The being
had no wings, and I sense it was female. She was everything
I'd ever dreamed an angel would be. As she moved toward
me, I walked to meet her ... Suddenly, my spirit body
was back in tunnel. Again, when I emerged from the tunnel,
the angelic being was waiting for me ... I was suddenly
thrust forward through the tunnel, and when I looked
down, I was aghast to see my physical body below me
... What mattered to me was the light. I wanted the
light. I was again thrust forward through the tunnel.
The angelic being was still there, waiting for me to
truly decide about my life, waiting for me to decide
about death, waiting for me to decide about my future
... For some reason, however, the angelic being sent
me into the tunnel again, back and forth through many
tunnels. I wondered why. I still wanted to 'touch,'
but I wanted the light - both desires tugging at my
spirit ... I finally found myself back in my house ...
Suddenly, I was rushing through the tunnel again. When
I emerged, I was up near the ceiling in the den, looking
down at my physical body below me. Then, without warning,
I was thrust swiftly back into my body." (Dr. Dianne
Morrissey)

Edgar
Cayce's NDE Tunnel Experiences: "I see myself as a tiny dot
out of my physical body, which lies inert before me.
I find myself oppressed by darkness and there is a feeling
of terrific loneliness. Suddenly, I am conscious of
a white beam of light, knowing that I must follow it
or be lost. As I move along this path of light I gradually
become conscious of various levels upon which there
is movement. Upon the first levels there are vague,
horrible shapes, grotesque forms such as one sees in
nightmares. Passing on, there begins to appear on either
side misshapen forms of human beings with some part
of the body magnified. Again there is change and I become
conscious of gray-hooded forms moving downward. Gradually,
these become lighter in color. Then
the direction changes and these forms move upward and
the color of the robes grows rapidly lighter. Next,
there begins to appear on either side vague outlines
of houses, walls, trees, etc., but everything is motionless.
As I pass on, there is more light and movement in what
appear to be normal cities and towns. With the growth
of movement I become conscious of sounds, at first indistinct
rumblings, then music, laughter, and singing of birds.
There is more and more light, the colors become very
beautiful, and there is the sound of wonderful music.
The houses are left behind; ahead there is only a blending
of sound and color. Quite suddenly I come upon a Hall
of Records. It is a hall without walls, without ceiling,
but I am conscious of seeing an old man who hands me
a large book, a record of the individual for whom I
seek information."

On
another occasion, Cayce's tunnel experience was described
this way: "Cayce felt himself to be a bubble traveling
through water to arrive at the place where he always
got the information."

On
yet another occasion, Cayce's tunnel experience was
described this way: "Cayce went up and up through a very
large column, passing by all the horrible things without
coming in contact personally with them, and came out
where there was the house of records. Cayce stated that
as he ascended the column, there would be beings on
either side of him calling out to him for help or trying
to get his attention. Cayce knew that any deviation
from the column and the beam of light would mean he
would not be able to return to his body. It, the column,
wound around on a wheel like the Rotarians have. Cayce
mentioned that he felt very secure traveling that way."
(Edgar Cayce)

Kevin
Williams' Analysis of Cayce's NDE Tunnel Experiences:
"Edgar
Cayce did not experience clinical or brain death, but
he was able to control his mind to travel consciously
through the identical process of the near-death state.
This can be done by anyone, according to Cayce, if the
proper attunement is made. Cayce also mentions that
this is done by everyone when they fall asleep and enter
the realm of dreams, only it is done subconsciously
not consciously. The same is true for death. Cayce's
experience reveals more aspects about the nature of
the tunnel so often described in near-death experiences
and more about the structure of the afterlife. One of
the afterlife levels that Cayce observed while in the
tunnel appears to be like our own except it is motionless.
In my opinion, this motionless afterlife level is our
physical universe. While Cayce journeys through the
tunnel and the eternal now, time on Earth stands still.
This principle can even be found in Einstein's Special
Theory of Relativity. The afterlife level Cayce
sees where human beings appear with some body part magnified
has been described in the Tibetan Book of the Dead and
other religious traditions as being hell. It is a place
where a particular desire has been overemphasized while
in physical life. The level where hooded monk-like beings
appear has also been described by many other near-death
experiencers such as Dr. George Ritchie and Betty Eadie.
Cayce was able to describe very accurately some of the
various levels of the afterlife that appear in near-death
accounts." (Edgar Cayce)

Virginia
Rivers' NDE Tunnel Experience: "Immediately the blackness
began to erupt into a myriad of stars and I felt as
if I were at the center of the universe with a complete
panoramic view in all directions. The next instant
I began to feel a forward surge of movement. The stars
seemed to fly past me so rapidly that they formed a
tunnel around me. I began to sense awareness, knowledge.
The farther forward I was propelled the more knowledge
I received. My mind felt like a sponge, growing
and expanding in size with each addition. The knowledge
came in single words and in whole idea blocks. I just
seemed to be able to understand everything as it was
being soaked up or absorbed. I could feel my mind expanding
and absorbing and each new piece of information somehow
seemed to belong. It was as if I had known already but
forgotten or mislaid it, as if it were waiting here
for me to pick it up on my way by. I kept growing with
knowledge, evolving, expanding and thirsting for more.
It was amazing, like being a child again and experiencing
something brand new and beautiful, a wonderful new playground. As
each second passed, there was more to learn, answers
to questions, meanings and definitions, philosophies
and reasons, histories, mysteries, and so much more,
all pouring into my mind. I remember thinking, 'I
knew that, I know I did. Where has it all been?' The
stars began to change shapes before my eyes. They began
to dance and deliberately draw themselves into intricate
designs and colors which I had never seen before. They
moved and swayed to a kind of rhythm or music with a
quality and beauty I had never heard and yet ... remembered.
A melody that humans could not possibly have composed,
yet was so totally familiar and in complete harmony
with the very core of my being. As if it were the rhythm
of my existence, the reason for my being. The extravagance
of imagery and coloration pulsed in splendid unison
with the magnificent ensemble. I
felt completely at peace, tranquilized by the vision
and the melodic drone. I could have stayed in this place
for eternity with this pulse of love and beauty beating
throughout my soul. The love poured into me from all
corners of the universe. I was still being propelled
forward at what seemed great speed. Yet I was able
to observe all that I passed as if I were standing still. Each
passing second I was absorbing more and more knowledge. No
one spoke to me, nor did I hear voices in my head. The
knowledge just seemed to BE and with each new awareness
came a familiarity. A tiny pin point of light appeared
far in front of me at the other end of my kaleidoscopic
tunnel. The light grew larger and larger as I was soaring
closer and closer to it, until finally I had arrived
at my destination." (Virginia Rivers)

Pam
Reynold's NDE Tunnel Experience: "There was a sensation like
being pulled, but not against your will. I was going
on my own accord because I wanted to go. I have different
metaphors to try to explain this. It was like the Wizard
of Oz - being taken up in a tornado vortex, only you're
not spinning around like you've got vertigo. You're
very focused and you have a place to go. The feeling
was like going up in an elevator real fast. And there
was a sensation, but it wasn't a bodily, physical sensation.
It was like a tunnel but it wasn't a tunnel. At
some point very early in the tunnel vortex I became
aware of my grandmother calling me. But I didn't hear
her call me with my ears ... It was a clearer hearing
than with my ears. I trust that sense more than I trust
my own ears. The feeling was that she wanted me
to come to her, so I continued with no fear down the
shaft. It's a dark shaft that I went through, and at
the very end there was this very little tiny pinpoint
of light that kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger. The
light was incredibly bright, like sitting in the middle
of a light bulb ... My grandmother didn't take me back
through the tunnel, or even send me back or ask me to
go. She just looked up at me. I expected to go with
her, but it was communicated to me that she just didn't
think she would do that. My uncle said he would do it.
He's the one who took me back through the end of the
tunnel. Everything was fine. I did want to go ... It
was communicated to me that it was like jumping into
a swimming pool. No problem, just jump right into the
swimming pool. I didn't want to, but I guess I was late
or something because he [the uncle] pushed me. I felt
a definite repelling and at the same time a pulling
from the body. The body was pulling and the tunnel was
pushing ...It was like diving into a pool of ice water
... It hurt!" (Pam Reynolds)

Plato's
NDE Account of the Solder Named Er and His Tunnel
Experience: "When his soul went forth
from his body he journeyed with a great company and
that they came to a mysterious region where there were
two openings side by side in the Earth, and above and
over against them in the heaven two others, and that
judges were sitting between these, and that after every
judgment they bade the righteous journey to the right
and upward through the heaven with tokens attached to
them in front of the judgment passed upon them, and
the unjust to take the road to the left and downward,
they too wearing behind signs of all that had befallen
them, and that when he himself drew near they told him
that he must be the messenger to humanity to tell them
of that other world, and they charged him to give ear
and to observe everything in the place ... From the
other tunnels came souls preparing for reincarnation
on Earth. From above came souls happily reporting delights
and visions of a beauty beyond words. From below came
souls lamenting and wailing over a thousand years of
dreadful sufferings, where people were repaid manifold
for any earthly suffering they had caused." (Plato)

Diego
Valencia's NDE Tunnel Experience: "Suddenly, my mind was
allowed to rest in a quiet place in order to further
ascend through a translucent tunnel with a light that
seemed rather a yellowish opacity. Then I saw many beings,
some ascending, some descending. Two of them were known
to me on the Earth realm and I had not seen them for
more than 20 years. I also met people unknown to me
then, whom I met many years later in their bodies on
the Earth realm. I asked one of the two persons I did
know, what he was doing there, and he told me he had
had a very serious health problem, and almost died,
but the health problem had already been solved by the
doctors. This is the reason he was going back to his
body. Nevertheless, another friend who was a friend
of my family for many years, was leaving the Earth realm
in a definite way, so was I told.Then
came some guides to take the friend who had been ill,
back to Earth through a tubular shape in descent. I
also observed other tubular shapes through which other
souls were ascending, and among them, the lady known
to me and my family whose body had died. I inquired
if the lady could go back but they said her time was
over and that she had definitely left her body. I felt
the energy of the lady perturbed, because she was confused
since she did not know she was dead, but I avoided meeting
her. In that moment my guides smiled. A
different lap started in which the path was transparent,
silent and compliant. I felt the pleasure of having
my conscience in total calm, together with the tender
but distant company of the guides and other entities
which I could not see. Suddenly
I saw another path where all the dead members of my
family appeared, among them my father." (Diego Valencia)

Robert
Coleman's NDE Tunnel Experience: "I was being propelled across
a vast distance. I dare not look straight ahead, but
I remember looking at the wall flashing past me as I
sped along some kind of tunnel. Then,
at the other end of this journey, I felt a most beautifully
reassuring sense of calm. I looked down at myself in
my new form. I had taken on a golden glow. I did not
need to walk. I floated. Everything about me was love, goodness
and warmth. Suddenly, I felt as if I had been given
access to the total knowledge of the universe. I stared
at a huge dark wheel containing stars and other
celestial bodies that slowly revolved. A deep voice
spoke slowly, but I could not make out what it
was saying. I was at some kind of entrance ... I
had to promise solemnly not to try to return. I agreed.
Once more, I stood in front of the great dark disk again.
As the stars and shapes slowly revolved, a deep voice
said slowly, 'Your time has not yet come.' I
felt all the wisdom that I had suddenly gained was being
forced out from me. I knew I could not take this knowledge
back with me, but was concerned that I might lose what
limited intelligence I already had before I died.
Then, once again I was in the long tunnel, feeling the
wind against my cheek as I looked away and saw the long wall
rushing past me." (Robert Coleman)

[Webmaster's
Note: The great dark disk may be the entrance to
the tunnel. Other experiencers have seen the tunnel
in the same kind of thing in their NDEs.]

Reinee
Pasarow's NDE Tunnel Experience: "At this point I became
aware that there was a light calling me from somewhere
else and I entered what people speak of as the tunnel.
I will speak of it as that although I did not quite
perceive it as a tunnel. It was a transition place where
I became aware of other beings who seemed to be rather
disoriented, rather confused and lost and some of these
beings were moving through to their home. I simply wanted
to go home. I moved through this place and I became
aware that I was not moving like we move physically.
When we move physically we have an intent, we have a
goal, and we move step by step to that goal. But what
moved me through this place was love. It was the love
of God and the love all things sacred and all things
beautiful and all things just. I could go on and on
and on but this was what propelled me on. It was my
connection and my affection for God. As I came
to the end of this place, I wondered if I would be alone,
and just like that I was with my uncle ..."
[After
her life review, the Being of Light told her, "It was
not time for her to enter that world." She then described
returning to her physical body.] "I
was catapulted back down what I perceived to be a tunnel.
This time it was down a rainbow tunnel of light, sound
and vibrational frequency of love. With a terribly hard
crash, I became aware of the scene I had left earlier
- the fire trucks, and now an ambulance. There were
men who were picking up my body and loading it into
the ambulance. I was in a state of complete grief. I
felt that I had become Eve and was cast out of the garden
of Eden. As
I was descending down this tunnel, my heart was already
attached to my home beyond. I was begging not to leave.
I crashed down into this realm of existence and was
suddenly confused by time and space ... I was being
propelled across a vast distance. I dare not look straight
ahead, but I remember looking at the wall flashing past
me as I sped along some kind of tunnel. Then, at the
other end of this journey, I felt a most beautifully
reassuring sense of calm. (Reinee Pasarow -- Watch her
video online:
www.lightafterlife.com)

Lou
Famoso's NDE Tunnel Experience: "I entered what I thought
looked like the Holland tunnel without the cars and
traffic and the ability to see what looked like light
at its end. It was dark but not black. The path was
slightly illuminated from what I thought to be the sunlight
shining from the other end. As I was being drawn
toward the lighted end of the tunnel, I carefully looked
around, even squinting to see into the darker recesses. I
passed what I thought to be very religious men doing
what they would do when praying to their GODS. They
were all dressed in their finest garbs, robes, togas,
head dresses, loin cloths and the like. Most of them
were off to the sides of the tunnel, but one of them,
that I seemed to float right over, looked oriental with
a long grayish Fu Man Chu, sitting there in the middle
of the tunnel with his hands clasped and his feet crossed
... When
I floated past the monk just below me, I thought he
could actually see me because it appeared like he began
to smile a smile of passage. All the other religious
men were mumbling sounds of prayer and were moving their
arms about as if making gestures of a blessing. I wasn't
sure if they were blessing me or the tunnel. I noticed
none of them were actually standing or sitting in the
tunnel but appeared to be levitated. I wanted to stop
and speak with some of them, maybe ask a few questions
like who they were and how long have they been here,
but I was being whisked away toward the light. I
saw wisps of smoke I believed to be incense. It came
from all portions of the great tunnel from one end to
the other. I could see and smell, but I had yet to have
the sensation of touch since my feet were never touching
the tunnels floor. I seemed to be traveling squarely
in the center as I drifted toward the end. The closer
I got to the end of the tunnel, the brighter things
got, and as I neared the end, it was like coming face
to face with a huge canvas that was just recently blazed
in the brightest white of whites. An empty canvas, ready
to be painted upon and I awaited that painting ... The
being told me that should I ever have questions of the
heart or mind, he will answer them if I only look within
myself, for that is where he will dwell. From this time
forward I need only think it to be so, and it will be
so, for I would forever know the truth ... I asked how
I would know and before I received an answer I was being
whisked away through that darkened tunnel like a dust
bunny in a vacuum, with about as much control as a runaway
freight train. A loving voice was telling me I must
go back today. (Lou Famoso)

Gilles
Bedard's NDE Tunnel Experience: "In the blink of an eye,
my vision expanded and I went into a place like a cosmos
where there were 12 people standing in a half-circle.
They were all pure white lights and they had no faces.
Beyond them was a tunnel. I wasn't afraid. I somehow
knew these people although they weren't family or people
I could recognize. It was as if they were waiting for
me. I asked them what was happening, and they told me,
'You are not going to die. You are going back to Earth.
You have something to do.' I asked them what it was,
and as soon as I asked it was as if I knew the answer.
They said I would know what I had to do when the time
came. At that moment, I could sense the future and I
realized I had the choice to do what I wanted to do.
I felt pure peace. What I remembered most is the music
I heard when I was out of my body. It was fascinating. It
was hard to tell how long the experience lasted. It
could have been five seconds or half an hour. When I
came back into my body, it felt very small. But it was
OK. I felt calm, very warm. When I came to, around 5
a.m., I felt ready for a party. It was as if nothing
had happened to me. I didn't remember the experience
at that time. But a month after I left the hospital,
I had another one. During the night, I had a sensation
of falling into a tunnel. Going into it, I knew I was
about to die, but just before arriving at the end of
the tunnel, I woke up. It was not a dream. It was real.
And it was then that I remembered the earlier experience."
(Gilles Bedard)

Don
Brubaker's NDE Tunnel Experience: "There was a sudden whoosh,
and I saw a large glowing red ball approaching me, almost
like the light on the front of a train. In that instant,
as the red ball rushed toward me, I knew terror like
never before. As it approached, I realized that it was
really a large, eerie red eye. It stopped when it got
close to me, and then began traveling alongside me through
the tunnel. I could hardly stand to look at it, its
gaze was so piercing. It felt like it was looking right
into my mind, into my very soul. Still
I was plunging into the depths of this horrible tunnel.
I glanced at the walls of the tunnel, walls of deep
black whirring past me like video footage on fast forward.
Yes, I was still there, still falling millions of miles
into some terrible pit. And yet, there I was, lying
deathlike on a hospital bed. I could see myself there,
and it panicked me all the more. The
eye - suddenly I realized that I was seeing the hospital
room through the red eye. It was absurd to me that I
hadn't realized this before - and yet I could hardly
process my thoughts. It was all too bizarre. Panic started
building in my mind as it began to dawn on me where
I was, suspended in this dank tube. As the red eye glowered
at me, the thoughts began to arrange themselves, coalescing
slowly. Suddenly, the idea was undeniable. I was in
hell. The realization swept over me like an ocean wave,
unstoppable though I tried desperately to dismiss it.
Hell! I didn't even believe in hell! And here I was?
This was it? I had only the briefest moment to react
to the thought when a deep, comfortable voice echoed
through the tunnel." (Don Brubaker)

Lynnclaire
Dennis' NDE Tunnel Experience: "It was then that I saw the
tunnel and knew with absolute assurance that I was on
my way home, certain that the home I had long yearned
for was in the light at the other end of this passageway.
As I was standing alone with my grandmother, she told
me that I must make this part of the journey alone.
Filled with peace, I knew I would see her again on the
other side. I
was ready, and without hesitation took my first step
into the corridor that led toward the light, crossing
an intersection that connected now with forever ...
Once I was inside the tunnel it was as if someone at
the other end was calling my name, drawing me forward.
I knew that this passageway was taking me to the top
of the mountain, leading me home into the light. I was
overjoyed to be going to the summit, as all my life
I had wanted to climb to the top of Mt. Rainier. I had
never made the attempt, believing that I would try and
fail, or that I would die trying. I moved effortless
into the passage. Soon I knew I would be able to fly.
Fly? The
light was getting brighter and warmer as I moved through
the tunnel. The MUSIC, the celestial symphony, continued
to fill the air with a psalm of Oneness, played on unseen
instruments of peace. I arrived at the pinnacle and,
standing at the entrance to the light, took a single
step, leaving my right footprint imbedded in Eternity.
I entered a sacred space a place where I knew I had
returned to my most essential nature, where I felt wholly
and consciously united with all things and Source, where
a soothing balm of peace was poured on my spirit by
an unseen hand, an emollient so rich in love that to
this day I cannot fully absorb or comprehend it." (Lynnclaire
Dennis)

Susan Blackmore's OBE
Tunnel Experience: Susan
Blackmore traveled down a tunnel of trees toward a light,
floated on the ceiling and observed her body below,
saw a silver cord connecting her floating astral body,
floated out of a building in England and crossed the
ocean to New York. After hovering around New York,
Blackmore floated back to her room in England where
she became very small and entered her body's toes. Then
she grew very big, as big as a planet at first, and
then she filled the solar system and finally she became
as large as the universe. Despite her experience,
Blackmore believes the tunnel is caused by oxygen starvation,
which causes certain cells in the brain, inhibitory
cells, to die first, the excitable ones taking longer.
(Susan Blackmore)

Susan
Blackmore discusses drugs including her own experience:
Under conditions of extreme tiredness and smoking hashish
I had an NDE-type experience complete with the tunnel
and light, out-of-body travels, expansion and contraction
of size, timelessness, a mystical experience and the
decision to return ...

A
critic's reply: Blackmore uses her drug-induced experiences
as the basis for her conclusions. I shall argue that
Blackmore's confusion on the subject of NDEs is the
result of her own drug-induced confusion -- which is
not an uncommon occurrence. Blackmore uses her drug-induced
experiences as the basis for her conclusions. I shall
argue that Blackmore's confusion on the subject of NDEs
is the result of her own drug-induced confusion -- which
is not an uncommon occurrence.

Susan
Blackmore discusses the NDEr passing through a tunnel
of mental energy: "There are many serious problems with
such a theory. If the other worlds are a part of this
world then they cannot really account for the afterlife."

A
critic's reply: "Such a conclusion proves false when
we consider the reports of NDErs. They not only see
ethereal energy patterns, they see this world, the world
of operating rooms and other mundane settings."

Blackmore
continues: "Something should be seen leaving the body
and going into the tunnel. The tunnel itself would be
present in physical space and we should be able to measure
it or in some way detect its presence."

A
critic's reply: "Yes, and that's why those skilled at
observing the subtle energy that surrounds the spirit
are able to perceive such things."

Blackmore
comments: "Still we should not reject such theories out
of hand just because they seem senseless. It is better
to apply some criteria to them and see how they fare.
Is this theory specific? No, not at all. The tunnels
described are all different in precise form and this
theory can say nothing about what forms they should
or should not take."

A
critic's reply: "Blackmore again looks at content, not
underlying phenomena. The structure of specific tunnels
is not in question, as has been stated, they are mental
constructs, mental or ethereal energy patterns. As such
they take many malleable forms. Blackmore fails to understand
such mental energy is NOT confined to a brain, but rather
is patterned energy that makes up a mind, not a brain."
(Critic's email)

"Death is
nothing more than a doorway, something
you walk through."
- Dr. George Ritchie